The Accessory
by Sophie-Lou
Summary: Maya Fey finds herself roped into an alliance with Kristoph Gavin when he calls on her services as a spirit medium. Very quickly, she finds herself at the mercy of his twisted desire for complete control.
1. Chapter 1

It began with a request from a client.

"I have a need of your services, Ms. Maya Fey. On the back of this card you will find a number you can reach me on. Discretion is of upmost importance. Please reply promptly."

It unnerved her a little but piqued her interest.

Maya was used to getting requests for meetings in Kurain for spirit channellings. She had been the Master for nearly a year now and she was finally starting to get the village back on its feet. She had made some good contacts in the city, in government and in law. Kurain was finally getting back on the map.

It was a lot of hard work but it was something for her to be proud of.

This was not the first request she had had asking her to meet in the city but never had she had one so vague. Her first instinct was to ignore it or insist they come to the village but truth was she was bitten by the mystery that surrounded this request. She wanted all the successes she could get.

That decided it for her.

So, Maya responded to the client promptly.

What she heard on the other end of the phone was the last thing she had expected.

'Ms. Fey,' came the cool, calm and well-spoken male voice. 'How pleased I am that you have decided to respond.'

'You asked for a quick reply,' she said politely.

It was hard to act formal sometimes, even on the phone. Just hearing this guy made her feel she had to be as calm and restrained as he seemed.

'And how kind of you to do as I asked,'he replied breathily.

A moment's pause.

'Um, so may I ask what it is you "require" of me?'she said.

'I would feel more confident discussing this face to face, if possible,'he said simply. 'In a public place, of course. It is important, I think, to establish trust.'

Maya shifted uncomfortably. Never had she agreed to meet a client without knowing exactly what they needed her to do, or rather who they needed her to channel. That said, she was due to visit the city anyway to help out Edgeworth with a few things...and she hoped to secretly drop in and see Nick.

(I could leave Pearl with him while I visit this guy...)

She had already made the plans in her head before she'd even agreed.

'Alright,' Maya nodded to herself. 'But...how will I even know who you are?'

' I will take care of all the necessary details, Ms. Fey. I will fax the details to you later today. I hope you understand my need for discretion...'

To many others this may have sounded sketchy, but Maya's line of work was in itself pretty off the record and shrouded in secrecy. She could always refuse to help if this guy turned out to be a lunatic, especially since he agreed to meet in a public place.

'Thank you,' Maya finally said. 'I will be in the city from next Monday on business. It will mainly be in the morning so from three onwards I should be free.'

'Excellent,'was all he said.

Maya Fey knew only the name "Kristoph Gavin" - not what he looked or what his voice sounded like. She only knew his name from Nick mentioning it briefly. 'My friend Kristoph…' he would say, the intonation being on the word "friend". He didn't say much about the guy, other than he was his friend.

'The only friend I have this side of the fence, as far as the rest of the world is concerned,' Nick had said bleakly.

He was desperate to keep his old friends at a distance, only allowing them to come near on rare occasions or under false names. Maya did it all the time. It was really the best way to go and visit him without any of her new powerful associates knowing about it.

Not to mention her Elders.

Maya couldn't stay away, though. She felt so much happier when they were together. It was impossible to fool herself that things could be the same as they once were... but she could try. She felt proud being the one person Nick could turn to and still trust, even if he felt his situation compromised her position.

Being the one to still make him smile made her happy.

Her client had arranged for her to meet him in a respectable tea room. They had a table and chairs near to the back for privacy, yet within reach of a waitress should this guy turned out to be a psycho. That reassured Maya to no end.

Despite getting there early, she was surprised to be told by the valet that her "client" was already there.

'Ah, yes,' he said pleasantly. 'Mr. Gavin is already waiting for you...'

He muttered something about showing her the way but her mind immediately went off to another place, leaving her limbs to go on automatic as they carried her through the establishment.

So...her client was Kristoph Gavin? As in Nick's friend Kristoph? This puzzled her as she wondered why he would not tell her his name immediately. The only logical explanation for that was because he didn't want her to mention to Nick about their meeting. But did Kristoph even know that Maya was friends with Nick?

These thoughts all would around in Maya's head as the busboy finally stopped at the table.

She snapped out of her thoughts, taking in her first impressions of Mr. Gavin as he stood from his chair to greet her. He seemed nice enough, the word "gentleman" springing to mind first. Very well presented hair, suit, skin...even his hands seemed well moisturised and cared for.

(One of those metrosexuals), Maya mused.

She was a fan of Maximilian Galactica, after all. So effeminate men neither bothered nor astounded her all that much. If anything Kristoph seemed tame compared to some of the people she had encountered as Nick's paralegal.

(He's probably a little vain.)

She bowed respectfully.

'Mr. Gavin! I'm...surprised.'

Kristoph tilted his head and smiled softly. 'Yes, I can imagine why you would be.'

He came around to her side of the table to help her into her chair. It was weird but kind of refreshing. Just when chivalry seemed to be dead, there appeared men like Mr. Gavin, determined to keep a little class and sophistication within the role of "man".

Maya thanked him awkwardly and watched as he returned to his seat.

'I apologise for leaving you in the dark about who I was, Ms. Fey,' he began immediately. 'I hope you understand that I desire to keep this meeting between us discreet.'

She nodded, 'O-of course. Most of my clients prefer to meet in secret to discuss a channelling.'

(They do at least give names, though...) she thought to herself.

He picked up his tea cup to taste the dark liquid contents within. It was more like he was sampling wine than tea. The aroma of the steam even reached Maya's side of the table - a distinct scent of jasmine filled the air around her. It melded well with whatever scent Kristoph had doused himself with too. That carried over as well, though Maya couldn't quite place what it was.

One of the servers came over to place a cup beside Maya.

'Forgive me,' Kristoph said. 'I took the liberty. I hope you don't mind.'

'It's fine,' Maya smiled thankfully.

Good job she liked jasmine tea.

She immediately took a sip of it moment the waitress left the table. The heat of that perfumed taste curled Maya's toes, reminding her of her childhood. All those silly girlie tea parties she used to have with Mia back in Kurain. Home still had the best tea leaves.

'You enjoy it freshly brewed,' Kristoph observed.

'I guess so...' Maya said slowly.

It felt a little awkward. Small talk had never been one of her strong suits yet it really was something she would have to perfect, being Master of Kurain.

Maya suddenly became aware that Kristoph was watching her intently as she sipped her drink. She stopped and bit her lip gracelessly, not knowing whether she should speak or not.

He chuckled, 'Forgive me. It is just so rare to find someone who appreciates good tea.'

'We grow our own tea in Kurain so it is always fresh,' she explained.

Then she had an interesting thought.

(Come to think of it, a place like this might make a good tourist attraction for the village! A traditional Kurain tea room...Genius! I should run that past the Elders. We could add it to our scroll on quick money making schemes too. Perfect!)

'How charming!' Kristoph commented. 'It sounds divine.'

Maya blinked and then blushed, realising that he was replying to her previous statement. She felt a little guilty to have let her thoughts wander in the presence of an acquaintance. She cleared her throat and tried to bring things back on topic.

'So...how can I be of service to you, Mr. Gavin?'

'Please, finish your tea first,' he insisted politely. 'I always find business is better discussed once the first cup has been completed.'

Maya picked up the porcelain cup and took a few more sips. She wasn't sure what to talk about while she was drinking the tea: the news, the weather, herself…?

She cleared her throat, 'How did you hear about me?'

That was a legitimate question.

'The Kurain Channeling School is fairly renowned,' he replied pleasantly. 'It received quite a lot of media coverage a year ago with the death of your mother.' He lowered his tone to a doleful one, 'My sympathies, of course.'

Maya nodded, 'T-thank you.'

She had barely known her mother and yet even now the image of her dying in front of her was still etched into her mind. Seeing anyone die is traumatic but to see one's own mother-

'But what made you want to contact me?'

'Well, the smaller details I shall delve into in a moment,' he said, adjusting his glasses. 'However the reason I decided to ask at all was simply because it is within your area of expertise.'

'So it is a channeling you need?'

'Yes.'

Maya wondered who it could be. Perhaps it was related to some case he was working on...or maybe it was personal? If it was the former then she would have to be careful. Since becoming the Master she had to adhere to the school's rules about channeling, including doing it in a controlled environment. Not to mention a background check. That hadn't always been a rule but after Turner Grey's murder, Maya had made it one.

She placed the empty cup down as he call for it to be refilled.

Finally, he decided to explain the request in detail.

'To put it simply,' he began, 'I need you to channel this woman for me.'

He reached into his organiser and pulled out a licence sized photograph of an attractive middle aged woman. She noticed the were several pictures neatly organised within the pages of his diary. It reminded her a little bit of Nick back in the day.

She smiled nostalgically, then picked up the picture.

'Her name is Helen Brewer,' Kristoph went on. 'She is the teacher of a friend of mine. I say friend in the…loosest terms. He is a sixteen year old boy who wishes to use me as a go-between.'

'A go-between?'

'He has a few questions he wants her to answer but being so young he...can't bring himself to approach you himself,' Kristoph said, and he leaned forward to whisper. 'I'm sure you understand.'

'I...I suppose,' Maya agreed.

Having grown up in a village that depended on the mysteries of death, the occult and the afterlife, spirits and the dead no longer frightened Maya at all. To an ordinary child, it probably was a creepy prospect to have to face them head on.

'Why have you agreed to help him?' she asked curiously.

Kristoph just smiled congenially, 'I'm just being a good Samaritan.'

He tapped his fingers delicately on the table.

'I would be very grateful if you would oblige, Ms. Fey,' he said simply. 'I am happy to cover any expenses and deal with the youngster, all I ask is that you keep this meeting and the channeling to yourself.'

He leaned forward again.

'By which I mean, do not speak to Wright about it.'

'...Wright?' Maya said slowly, feigning ignorance. It was a pretty stupid play.

He cocked his head, 'You need not play coy with me, Ms. Fey. I know full well you are, or were, friends with him.'

'Yes,' Maya croaked a little. It hurt to talk about it still - but she decided to honour Nick's wishes by pretending she no longer saw him. 'I'm afraid since that whole forgery thing I haven't spoken to him.'

He lowered his eyes.

'I see, that is understandable,'he said slowly, before smiling again. 'However if the opportunity arises where you do speak to him, I would appreciate it if you do not mention it.'

'That goes without saying,' Maya agreed. 'Even if I did still speak to him, which I don't, I would not mention it because confidentiality is nothing new to a spirit medium.'

She knew he probably wasn't buying it but he was at least going to pretend that he did. Either way, they were both agreed that Phoenix Wright would not know about today.

He chuckled under his breath.

'I'm so glad we understand each other.'


	2. Chapter 2

Maya returned to the hotel room the Kurain Elders had arranged for her in the city while she took care of the business. Aside from a channelling for a senator - an middle aged woman who had been roped into a scandal involving one of her many PAs who committed suicide after a delicate government leak - her main reason for being in town was to help Edgeworth.

He had been assigned a case involving the murder of a high school teacher who seemed to have been the victim of an infuriated student. He had gone to see her after hours in her classroom and seemed to have strangled her to death. His fingerprints were found on her boots, which he had left outside the classroom after locking it from the outside. He had also removed her stockings, though was no sign of molestation or rape. The key that belonged to the victim was in his possession as was a prescription medicine bottle that once again belonged to the victim.

'It is pretty perplexing that he would have made all of these mistakes,' Edgeworth told Maya as they arrived at the boarding school where this had all occurred. It was an all-boy school and the only women in sight were members of the faculty and even then there were only three including the victim.

'Her name was Katherine Rooster,' Edgeworth explained, pulling out the picture of the smartly dressed thirty-something year old. 'A divorcee who started working for the school just last term.'

Maya looked at the picture for a moment before handing it back.

'Hm, did the boys who go here like her?'

'Word is that she had a sort of "love her, hate her" relationship with her students,' Edgeworth replied. 'From what I can tell the boy accused of killing her was top of the class. He Is an orphan, at this school on a scholarship. He has always achieved perfect grades, was involved in many school clubs and is generally well liked among his peers.'

He showed her a picture of the boy - a small framed but very attractive young teenage boy with a medium complexion, dark eyes and warm brown hair. He had a cute smile too. Just by looking at him Maya got the feeling of goodness from him. She would have liked to believe it was her Fey blood telling her he was innocent, but she knew it was probably just because she thought he was handsome.

Maya managed to pull her eyes away.

'Then why has he been arrested?'

'Because we can find no evidence of another person at the crime scene,' Edgeworth said dolefully. He pointed towards the building where the murder took place. 'I suggest I fill you in as we walk, Maya. Shall we then?'

With a sigh, she followed.

Edgeworth told her all the details. Aside from his fingerprints being found on the victim's boots, he was caught on the security cameras leaving the school building to head back to the dorms around the time she was murdered. The next morning he inexplicably handed the teacher's key over to the school office, which was when the police arrested him.

'But why would he not just throw the key away?' Maya pondered. 'Why wouldn't he throw the boots away? And why would take that empty medicine bottle?'

'That is yet to be made clear,' he told her. 'We are still waiting for an analysis of the uniform he was wearing at the time but early reports indicate that some of the victims saliva was found on his sleeve.'

It was hard for Maya not to feel grossed out by the mere mention of spit but she managed to keep her face as straight as possible. 'How the hell did that get there?'

'It seems logical to me that when he was strangling her,' Edgeworth began, folding his arms and tapping his finger, 'she spat up.'

Maya also adopted her pondering pose, trying to put all the pieces together in her head. It seemed pretty weird that she would spit up... so did she have something in her mouth at the time.

She straightened up again, 'So what has the kid said about what happened?'

Edgeworth sighed, 'Unfortunately the boy is not saying much of anything. Word has it his defence attorney has advised him to remain silent on the matter.'

'But isn't that as good as admitting that he's done it?' Maya quibbled, and then leaned close to whisper, 'Remember poor Adrian Andrews? She almost went down herself for staying quiet too long.'

'Indeed,' Edgeworth grunted, clearly frustrated by this whole case of affairs. 'Needless to say I will be requesting that the boy testify when this reaches court. Either he is the culprit or...' He paused a second, his voice growing graver, 'It could be that his story is so ridiculous that his defence attorney believes we will not believe it without substantial proof.'

Too ridiculous...? That was when another mystery slotted together in Maya's head. Smiling, she turned to Edgeworth, regarding him with a coy smirk. 'So that's why you asked me of all people to help!' she giggled. 'You suspect there's some sort of crazy turnabout at the end of all this.'

'All the evidence makes this seem like an open and shut case,' he admitted slowly. 'But even with the motive the police have suggested to me, it seems unusual that a grade A and reportedly good-natured student would snap like this.'

They reached the classroom of the crime.

Edgeworth went on, 'While your spiritual powers are very useful in certain situations, it was more your unique way of looking at things that prompted me to seek your help.'

'"Unique"?' Maya repeated, then smirked. 'You mean loopy, right?'

'I mean that your ability to look at things in a different way might help me clear the doubts in my mind,' he concluded. 'Or help me thread them together. Either way I appreciate your help, Maya.'

They went inside the classroom to find it was a mess. It was clear that whatever happened here, it had been a violent struggle. The officers were scattered around the room, making notes and generally being ineffective. It reminded Maya of the good old days when she used to visit crime scenes with Nick.

A sad chill fell over her heart as they approached Detective Gumshoe. He was looking pretty meek, especially at the sight of Maya. They hadn't seen her since before that case. He and Nick were on good terms; he babysat for Trucy (and Pearl if she was there) a lot.

But the guilt was still there.

'Long time no see, pal,' Gumshoe sighed wistfully.

Maya tried to put on a brave face. 'Come on, pal. At least try to smile.'

A tiny one did creep up in the corners of his mouth.

'It is pretty good to see ya, Maya,' he admitted. 'But what are ya doin' here anyway, pal? Decided to PA for prosecutors now.'

'I'm here as a one-off to help Mr. Edgeworth,' she said.

They looked over the crime scene together, discussing what had been found.

'From what we can tell there were no witnesses,' Gumshoe explained. 'It was pretty late at night so that's not too surprising. Classes have been suspended while we carry out further investigation.'

'Edgeworth said you checked the kid's room,' Maya queried.

'Yep,' the detective sighed. 'I hate to admit it but the kid seems to be the culprit. Not least because of the story he was trying to spin when we arrested him-'

That piqued both Edgeworth and Maya's interest.

'What?!' the prosecutor snapped. 'You mean the boy said something about the murder and you failed to tell me?!'

Gumshoe flinched, as he was accustomed to doing in moments like this. The beaten dog expression on his face was saying only one thing: "please don't cut my salary again!"

'Ugh, y-yes sir,' he replied bashfully. 'He didn't say much though because before we could question him, some pretty boy lawyer had swanned in and declared he was taking the case. Pro bono, no less. After that, the boy stopped talking.'

(A "pretty boy lawyer"? Could it be...?) Maya mused. Kristoph Gavin didn't seem like the sort of man to pick up potentially small-profit cases, let alone offer his services for free. Besides, he couldn't be the only "pretty boy lawyer" in Los Angeles.

Edgeworth brought them back on point.

'What did the boy say?!'

Gumshoe thought for a second, his eyes twitching as he tried to recall the arrest earlier that day. 'Well, when we took him in he kept asking "How did it happen?" and "I thought she'd be safe!" I then turned to him and said, "Stop your whining, pal! You can tell us all when we get you into questioning."'

Maya looked solemnly at Edgeworth. 'I suppose there is no chance it was a suicide?'

'Her neck was badly bruised,' Edgeworth said simply. 'We are waiting for the autopsy report but one look at her face would tell you that she was asphyxiated.'

'Yep, she was a blue as a snowflake on a blue backdrop, pal!' Gumshoe added proudly.

Maya smiled despite herself and mused on the chuckling man, (Detective Gumshoe can be pretty poetic when he wants to be.)

'Why didn't you interview the boy before the lawyer got there?'

'He was waiting for us,' Gumshoe said. 'Guards said he had been there for about half an hour before we showed up. Probably looking for a client.'

That was weird, hanging around the detention centre for a client. That had to be the worst way to get clients.

'Anyway, the pretty boy enacted the boy's right to speak with his attorney before he says anything to the police,' Gumshoe snapped angrily. 'When I tried to protest, he just ignored me. He just looked at the kid and said, "If you know what's best for you, you will let me help you." The kid hasn't opened his mouth since.'

Miles Edgeworth tapped his forearm, taking everything into consideration. 'Interesting. The boy enacted his right to remain silent and his right to an attorney within the first half an hour of arrest. A new record.'

'Where does that leave us?' Maya asked.

'No defendant is obliged to say anything,' Edgeworth told her. 'And if the boy has already prepared the papers making... who is his attorney, detective?'

Gumshoe thought again, 'Um, I think I remember. Oh yeah! It was Gavin, sir.'

Both Maya and Edgeworth stiffened up. 'You mean Kristoph Gavin?' Maya asked.

'Um...yeah that sounds about right,' Gumshoe chuckled.

Maya remained silent. So it was Mr. Gavin who had taken this case, though it still didn't seem his style. Then again, it wasn't like Maya knew him all that well. He had asked her to do one job, that was all. He seemed like an nice enough guy...maybe he saw something in the boy's case? Maybe Edgeworth's assumption that things were not clean cut was accurate? Maya was certainly getting that feeling.

(Boots and stockings,) Maya thought randomly. Where had she heard that before?

She looked up at Edgeworth, who still had his eyes closed in though, 'Huh. I see.' was all he said.

'Have you...ever faced off against him, Edgeworth?' she asked tentatively.

'No, not yet,' he said slowly. 'This will be the first and I look forward to it.'

'I look forward to it too, Prosecutor Edgeworth.'

They all spun around to look at the door and found themselves faced with the devil himself. Kristoph Gavin smiled at them all courteously, nodding as he acknowledged them. 'Detective,' he said to the snarling policeman, and then he addressed Maya. 'Miss Fey.'

She bowed her head politely.

Then, suddenly, Edgeworth stepped between them in an uncharacteristically offensive manner as if he was shielding her from a bullet. 'This is a crime scene, Mr. Gavin. It is restricted access to the public.'

Gavin looked over the prosecutor's shoulder, scanning the empty room. 'It seems the forensics team have finished and the body has been taken.'

'Perhaps,' Edgeworth conceded, folding his arms again. 'But we are still carrying out our own investigation here. Detective Gumshoe, please ensure no one enters his room or the surrounding corridor.'

Gumshoe straightened up, happy to take the order from Edgeworth. 'Right ya are, sir!' Then he immediately resumed scowling like a bulldog, ready to escort Gavin from the room. 'On ya bike, pal!'

The younger defence attorney took a step back away from Gumshoe's hands are they reached out to literally accost him. '

I would appreciate it if you would reframe from touching my jacket, detective. And, though you are surely a...good-natured fellow,' he spoke, adjusting his glasses, 'I am not exactly your "pal", am I?'

This call to attention of the word "pal" left Gumshoe a bit flustered. Never had anyone scolded him for using his endearing character trait, which Maya could vouch he defended with pride. 'B-but what...I-I kinda always call the defence attorneys "pal". It never bothered them before. W-what should I call you, then?'

Gavin smiled politely, 'Mr. Gavin will do.'

Like a beaten dog, Gumshoe bowed to the pressure of the more charismatic man and nodded. 'I'll try to remember that, Mr. Gavin, sir.'

Maya felt a little sorry for him. He was so used to gentler, dorky attorneys like Nick had been that coming up against Kristoph Gavin was a whole new experience for him too. A little bit of authority and Gumshoe's confidence collapsed like an old Kurain folding screen.

Edgeworth had watched the exchange, unamused.

'If you are quite finished, detective,' he said sternly, 'Please show Mr. Gavin to the door.'

'I can find it myself,' the attorney said pleasantly. 'I just thought I had better come here are warn you, Mr. Edgeworth, but if refuse to speak with me-'

He turned to leave.

'Wait!' Edgeworth immediately called. Who knew? Maybe he was finally going to let the boy speak with them and he was going to say something...shocking? 'What could you possibly wish to warn me about?'

(What is there to warn about?) Maya wondered to herself.

Gavin tilted his head. 'That I will be lobbying for a complete acquittal for my client tomorrow, and I intend to uncover the perfect evidence to explain what happened here.'

Maya looked between the two men. Edgeworth lowered his eyes even more than usual, clearly not convinced. 'I would be surprised if such a piece of evidence existed.'

'And I am surprised that you of all prosecutors are choosing to pursue this issue,' Kristoph Gavin sighed, waving his hand dismissively. 'The evidence is clear to me just by looking at the preliminary crime report I got from the precinct,' and he reformed his arms as he spoke calmly, 'That the circumstances of this murder are not consistent with the boy's actions that night.'

He took in the moment of silence that followed; Maya could think of no words to fill the void.

'Take the boots and stockings for example,' Gavin pointed out. 'For what possible reason would the boy have removed them from his teacher.'

Before either Edgeworth or Maya could respond, Gumshoe voiced his own thoughts aloud. 'Well, perhaps he's just a weird kid. Or maybe he wanted a souvenir?'

Gavin pushed his glasses up, 'A souvenir? How do you figure, detective?'

'Well, sir, it's something that I've heard killers do sometimes,' Gumshoe explained, before chuckling to himself. 'You know like in those crime dramas?'

There was a collective cringe from everyone when they heard him say that.

'But...wouldn't he have taken the boots and stockings along with the medicine bottle?' Maya muttered thoughtfully. 'Or left the boots and stockings on and just taken the bottle?'

She reached into Edgeworth's pocket unexpectedly and pulled out his organiser, wanting to see the picture of the boots again. They were stood neatly against the door with the stockings stuffed into the legs. They were clearly expensive boots, laced all the way up from top to bottom and well polished.

'Perhaps the victim took the boots off herself?' Maya said, a little half-heartedly.

Her voice was so quiet that no one heard her. Instead, Edgeworth silenced Gumshoe.

'This is not a fictional drama, detective,' he scolded, tapping his fingers in irritation again before pointing them at Kristoph Gavin. 'You say the boots and stockings are inconsistent with the behaviour of a murderer... then show me proof. What about the boots and stockings are odd to you?'

Maya snapped out of her own thoughts. It was quite interesting watching Edgeworth work as it gave her a reverse view of the crime scene. So often it had been her and Nick being pushed out of a crime scene, much like Mr. Gavin was earlier. Now she was walking around with a prosecutor she got to see everything first hand, rather than the misdirected and diluted version Nick always got tossed. The system really was tipped in favour of the prosecution - no wonder Mr. Gavin had ordered the boy not to speak. The client was really the only thing a defence attorney had some control over.

She was surprised when Kristoph pulled a piece of paper out of his pocket.

'I presume you have seen the fingerprint analysis, Mr. Edgeworth?' Gavin began cooly.

'Naturally.'

'And I am guessing that it is on that basis alone that your good detective there saw fit to charge my client with murder?' he went on, then folded his arms again. 'A pretty flimsy case, wouldn't you say?'

Edgeworth shook his head. 'There is more evidence than the boots containing your client's fingerprints. For one there is the fact that an empty bottle of prescription sleeping pills that belonged to the victim were found in the boy's dormitory.'

She couldn't help it - Maya suddenly perked up.

'Sleeping pills?' she repeated.

'Yes,' Edgeworth nodded. 'There is also the teacher's organiser in which she notes a meeting with your client.'

Gavin chuckled lightly and pulled a photocopy out from the folds of paper he was holding. He presented it to them, revealing it to be the diary page. 'This one, yes? "Justice - 6:45pm", but it proves nothing.

Maya tilted her head.

'Yeah, what does that prove, Edgeworth?' she muttered aloud.

Her friend became briefly unbalanced as he was clearly not used to people asking him to justify something that to him was so simple. Still, he answered. 'The suspect's name is Apollo Justice,' he told her. 'It is reasonable to assume that she was referring to a meeting with him.'

That made sense, Maya supposed. Still it was a little odd...or maybe it was just the boy's name that was odd. Apollo Justice. It was a peculiar last name, probably pretty rare so there was little hope of another "Justice" being involved in this case.

It was a bit odd she would ask the boy to visit her so late, though.

'Let us not forget also,' Miles Edgeworth went on, 'that the time of this meeting correlates almost perfectly with the initial estimated time of death, which was-'

'Between seven and eight,' Kristoph Gavin nodded, cutting him off. His smile was ever present and his demure ever calm. 'A bit of a flimsy time scale, wouldn't you agree?'

He shook his head in disappointment.

'Everything you have mentioned so far is circumstantial,' Gavin pointed out.

'Unfortunately there is also photographic evidence proving when the suspect left the scene of the crime,' Edgeworth quickly added, suddenly dedicated to this game of one up-man-ship. 'The security cameras caught him as he left the school for his room, and the time stamp was at seven-thirteen.'

'I am not trying to deny that my client was there,' Gavin replied suavely. 'All that photograph proves is what time my client left the school.'

Maya was half-listening to this debate and rebuttal from each side as the rest of her mind kept focusing on the boots and stockings. They were bothering her so much because they reminded her of something pretty important, like a famous old wives tale and...she was certain is could be relevant somehow.

(Yeah...why is that bugging me so much?!) Maya wondered.

'There is also the fact that no one else was seen leaving the school at that time and the suspect had the victim's personal key to the classroom in his uniform pocket,' Edgeworth continued on. 'And the fact that the victim's saliva was found on the sleeve of said uniform.'

(The evidence really is stacking up,) Maya thought.

'This is not some half-brained operation here, Mr. Gavin,' Edgeworth said. 'I do not take matters like this lightly especially when the suspect is a minor. We are trying to gather all the information we can but at present...your client is the only who could have feasibly done it.'

'Hmph,' Gavin muttered under his breath, but not seeming all that rattled. He lifted his head high, seeming utterly contrite. 'Forgive me for interrupting your investigation, prosecutor. Given your weak case, I should probably leave you to gather something more tangible.'

Even Maya could tell he was being passive aggressive to the extreme, trying to annoy Edgeworth into submission. She wondered if she should speak up for his defence, seeing as her old friend was just boiling away with irritation, trying to rise above it all. She couldn't help herself in the end.

'Mr. Edgeworth is trying to getting to the bottom of what is going on here just as much as your are, Mr. Gavin,' she snipped suddenly. She tried to avoid pouting, though, seeing as she didn't want Gavin to think her unprofessional. He had offered her a job after all.

Gavin looked to her.

'My interest is winning my client a complete acquittal,' Kristoph told him. 'Discovering the truth is merely a bonus.'

She was taken aback.

'But don't you care about what really happened her?' Maya asked.

'Maya...' Edgeworth jumped in, hoping to silence her. He had no chance.

'Miss Fey,' Kristoph Gavin sighed, shaking his head again. 'It is Mr. Edgeworth and the police's job to make the case for the state. The system does not allow for prosecutors and defence attorneys to work together. Our job is to create the scenario to that the Judge may rule correctly.'

He glanced over the room again.

'...and the prosecution's case in this trial is hardly perfect,' Gavin went on, turning his eye now on Edgeworth again. 'I expected better from the famous Miles Edgeworth. Good thing I never believed the hype else I would have been disappointed.'

Finally, he turned to leave again.

'My client will not say a word to you,' Kristoph Gavin informed them, not turning to face them again. 'If you wish to hear his side of the story, you will have to put him on the stand, Prosecutor Edgeworth. See you in court.'

He glanced over his shoulder to look at Maya.

She instinctively stepped back in surprise.

'Good day, Miss Fey,' he smiled.

Then he was gone. Maya felt a little chilled by the exchange. She was so used to watching Edgeworth talk to Nick and her being able to make a new quips now and then. Today she had felt like something bad would happen if she said a single word. Even when she did speak up, it was clear Edgeworth wanted her to shut up. Gavin had seemed relatively pleased that she spoke up. The world sure felt different now Nick wasn't an attorney.

Gumshoe broke the silence. 'Ya see, sir. Ya see? How can you deal with a man like that?! Swanning in like he's always right! He was like that at the detention centre too.'

Edgeworth nodded.

'Mr. Gavin is something of a prodigy among the defence attorneys,' he informed the detective. 'I hear that he is supposed to be unflappable.'

'Nothing like Nick,' Maya chuckled, trying to lighten the mood. It also helped to think about Nick again. She had to go and see him after this!

She tilted her head in thought, 'Mr. Gavin sure seemed a bit full of himself, though. I'm not sure I...like that or not.'

'You would do best to stay away from that man, Maya,' Edgeworth said simply.

'Why?'

'It's just a feeling that I have,' he shrugged, clearly not wanting to stay on the subject. 'Whether he is Wright's friend or not, I don't like the man.'

Maya thought for a second and smiled nostalgically.

'He reminds me of you.'

Edgeworth flinched, 'W-what?!'

'Well, when we first knew you,' Maya said, the "we" referring to her and Nick again. 'That "too cool for you" attitude and the gestures and what not...you used to do that.'

She could tell by the look on his face that he begrudgingly couldn't argue with that. He knew what sort of man he used to be and that no matter what he did, people would still judge him for it. Nonetheless she could also tell that while he was thinking about all of this, he was hiding something from her.

He shook his head, 'If you say so, Maya. I just hope that Kristoph Gavin had his epiphany about being a lawyer soon, else we might be in for a frustrating battle in court.'


End file.
